People ask how I am these days, as if I lost a close relative or underwent major surgery. They ask because they’ve heard about dramatic changes in journalism nationwide and here in our newsrooms.

It’s a difficult time, and I appreciate them asking. We have significantly reduced our staff, and that means we have fewer journalists covering Bay Area neighborhoods and local governments. Fewer watchdogs looking out for our tax dollars. Fewer stories about the remarkable people and challenging issues that make our home such a special place.

So the question is really, “Are we OK?”

Executive Editor Neil Chase (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group)

On Sunday, The Denver Post asked that question in a section filled with columns about their shrinking newsroom and the existential threat to community journalism. In an extraordinary editorial, they bravely implored their owners – the same investors who own our news organization – to support local journalism or sell the properties to someone who will. The union that represents our employees has been saying the same thing for months.

They’re right. Democracy cannot succeed without a healthy, free press. So the owners of the press must be committed to its vital role, even if it reduces their profit. A sweeping review of data by Politico suggests that in a “news desert” where local media declines to the point where few people read it, voters know only what they’re told by candidates and vote differently.

The decline of local journalism has been swift and brutal. Newspaper advertising revenue has fallen by 80 percent just since the year 2000. The newspaper was once the only way to get news and box scores, find an apartment, clip coupons, decide what movie to see or look for a job. And it was the only way for retailers to get Sunday ads to customers. The Internet changed that, so we have to change our business model, but we can. Local journalism is still healthy in some U.S. cities and must be that way everywhere.

The Denver Post’s special section appeared Sunday because that newsroom is losing one-third of its staff this week. When we went through similar cuts a couple months ago, people in our community offered introductions to potential investors in the event our owners decide to sell. Others suggested that we seek nonprofit support for some of our reporting as other news organizations have done. We’re now having fascinating conversations with people who care deeply about the future of journalism.

Others, of course, were less friendly and said they’d be happy to see us fade away. Some of those remarks are fueled by a president who lies about the role of the media and others who amplify those lies. But if you’re reading this, chances are you share my belief that a free and aggressive press is an essential element of a successful democracy whether it’s covering Washington, Sacramento, city hall or a sanitation district.

So perhaps you’d like to know how you can join this important conversation.

First, we need to do a better job of listening. So we’re launching Town Hall sessions around the Bay Area. Recent changes to The Milpitas Post (which we publish weekly) disappointed some residents, including Mayor Rich Tran, who posted on Facebook about the need for quality coverage. He’s right. So if you’re in or near Milpitas, please consider joining us at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Milpitas Community Center. We’ll start with quick updates on what’s changing in our newsrooms and spend the bulk of the evening hearing what issues are most important to you and should be the focus of our coverage. We’ll announce other locations soon, so let me know if your city or town should be next.

Second, please support quality local journalism. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider signing up. A subscription gets you access to all of our news, sports, entertainment, opinion and much more, and it sends a positive message about the future of our business to anyone who’s considering investing in, or improving, local journalism. Email me and I’ll send you a code that provides a substantial discount.

And third, please set the record straight about the vital importance of journalism in today’s society. When we or other journalists do work you believe is useful, please share it on social media. When you encounter unfounded criticism of the media, please respond with your own thoughts. When we deserve criticism, let us know.

If we have aggressive, impactful, effective local journalists and engaged citizens, we’ll all be OK.

Neil Chase is the executive editor of The Mercury News and East Bay Times. He previously worked as an editor at The New York Times, The San Francisco Examiner, The Arizona Republic and CBS MarketWatch and was a professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He chairs the Board for Student Publications at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.